How much is local news on the web worth to you? Please think about it. Over the past year, we’ve continued to deliver relevant and useful information daily about Cornelius and the Lake Norman area. We’ve covered the issues, including the November election; helped promote events through our comprehensive events calendar; and put a spotlight on people, organizations and businesses in our community.

Now it’s time to do your part.

Today we’re launching an end-of-year campaign, asking readers to become supporters of local news on the web through voluntary subscription payments. Are you already on our list? If so, thanks! If you’re not, we’d be grateful if you would consider a payment – it can be once a year, quarterly or monthly – you decide.

Here’s the logo for the town’s new buy-local campaign.

Our town recently started a “buy local” campaign, with the slogan “Turn Around Shop in Town.” The idea is a that when you spend your money locally, most of that money stays local. It supports your neighbors who own and run local businesses. It pays the salaries of workers who themselves shop locally, stop at the coffee shop, or dine at local restaurants.

The same is true for local news. Please make a payment today to support our business, as you do the other businesses in town.

You may not be aware: Although advertising is part of our business, it does not begin to cover our costs. Most small businesses still aren’t using the web for advertising and those that do get an incredible bargain: Ads on our site sell for a fraction of what they cost in local print publications, even though in many cases we have more readers.

So we need readers to fill the gap.

HOW MUCH?

People have asked how much a subscription should cost. Since this is voluntary, we’re leaving that up to you, though we can make some recommendations Think about what you pay for other subscriptions: Are we worth roughly what you pay for a magazine or newspaper or an online service?

A small number of readers currently support us this way, and the average payment is about $5 a month or $60 a year. Some other ways to look at this: A month of internet access at our office costs $80. A month of technology services from our consultant is $250. Covering one news event with a story and photos can cost $100 to $250, depending on the event. And producing one video or audio report or a longer story could cost us $500. Those are just a few ideas.

MAKE A PAYMENT

Here’s how:

Send us a check to Davidson News LLC, PO Box 953, Davidson, NC 28036

Or, pay online by clicking below. Or set up a monthly payment through your online banking service, or through our online payment system. Details at http://davidsonnews.net/support-us/

This isn’t a charitable contribution – think of it as paying for service you use and rely on.

Make a voluntary subscription payment now – click here

We work hard all year round to help build and support our community. Thank you for supporting us!

This post was written by:

David Boraks is the founder and editor of Davidson News LLC, which started in 2006 as a neighborhood blog and evolved into a regional community news network. He is a print, magazine, web and radio journalist, with experience in every nook and cranny of the news world, covering everything from local news to Fortune 100 companies to technology to Asia. He lives on South Street in Davidson, in a house that was at the center of a 1914 murder case. Ask him and he'll tell you that story.